Vision-guided stitching systems and logic for fabricating engineered textiles with interstitched superposed wires

ABSTRACT

Presented are automated manufacturing systems for fabricating engineered textiles, footwear and apparel formed with such engineered textiles, methods for making such engineered textiles, and memory-stored, processor-executable instructions for operating such manufacturing systems. An automated manufacturing system constructs engineered textiles from workpieces composed of superposed, unwoven wires. The system includes a movable end effector bearing a stitching head and an image capture device. The stitching head has a thread feeder and sewing needle to generate stitches. The image capture device captures images of the workpiece and outputs data indicative thereof. A system controller receives this image capture device data and locates, from the captured image of the workpiece, gaps defined between quadrangles of the superposed wires. The controller commands the end effector to sequentially move the stitching head and thereby align the sewing needle with the gaps, and commands the stitching head to insert a succession of stitches within these gaps.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY AND CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/929,499, which was filed on Nov. 1, 2019, andis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety and for allpurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to engineered textiles. Morespecifically, aspects of this disclosure relate to systems, methods, anddevices for automated fabrication of engineered textiles for footwearand apparel.

BACKGROUND

Articles of footwear, such as shoes, boots, slippers, sandals, and thelike, are generally composed of two primary elements: an upper forsecuring the footwear to a user's foot; and a sole for providingsubjacent support to the foot. Uppers may be fabricated from a varietyof materials, including textiles, polymers, natural and syntheticleathers, etc., that are stitched or bonded together to form a shell orharness for securely receiving a foot. Many sandals and slippers, forexample, have an upper with an open toe and/or open heel construction.Some designs employ an upper that is limited to a series of straps thatextend over the user's instep and, optionally, around the ankle.Conversely, boot and shoe designs employ a full upper with a closed toeand heel construction that encases the foot. An ankle opening through arear quarter portion of the upper provides access to the footwear'sinterior, facilitating entry and removal of the foot into and from theupper. A shoelace or strap system may be utilized to secure the footwithin the upper.

A sole structure is mounted to the underside of the upper, positionedbetween the user's foot and the ground. In many articles of footwear,including athletic shoes and boots, the sole structure is a layeredconstruction that generally incorporates a comfort-enhancing insole, animpact-mitigating midsole, and a surface-contacting outsole. The insole,which may be located partially or entirely within the upper, is a thinand compressible member that provides a contact surface for theunderside “plantar” region of the user's foot. By comparison, themidsole is mounted underneath the insole, forming a middle layer of thesole structure. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forces, themidsole may help to control foot motion and impart enhanced stability.Secured underneath the midsole is an outsole that forms theground-contacting portion of the footwear. The outsole is usuallyfashioned from a durable, waterproof material that includes treadpatterns engineered to improve traction.

Footwear that employ a full upper with a closed toe/heel design willconventionally take on multilayer constructions that are formed byjoining together a variety of cutout sheet material elements. Thesesheet elements may be selected to impart wear-resistance,moisture-control, stretchability, flexibility, air-permeability,comfort, etc., to different areas of the upper. To fabricate the upper,the individual elements are first cut from sheet stock to desired shape,and then joined together through stitching, adhesive bonding, or othersuitable joining technique. The sheet elements are often joined in anoverlapping or layered configuration to impart multiple properties toindividual areas. As the number and type of sheet elements incorporatedinto the upper increases, the time and expense associated withtransporting, stocking, cutting, and joining the elements increasesproportionately. Waste material from these manufacturing processes alsoaccumulates to a greater degree with the increase in the number and typeof sheet elements incorporated into an upper. Moreover, recycling anarticle of footwear becomes increasingly more difficult for uppersmanufactured from a large number of individual sheet elements.

SUMMARY

Presented herein are automated manufacturing systems with attendantcontrol logic for fabricating engineered textiles, footwear and apparelformed, in whole or in part, from such engineered textiles, methods formaking such engineered textiles, and memory-stored, processor-executableinstructions for operating such manufacturing systems. By way ofexample, and not limitation, there are disclosed engineered textilescomposed of superposed, unwoven wires that are interconnected, e.g., viaan array of interleaved stitch seams or other joining techniques. Theresultant textile does not require and, thus, may eliminate a subjacentsupport scrim or layer of fabric. In contrast to conventional designs,at least some of the disclosed engineered textiles are neither woven norknitted; rather, individual strands may extend in two, three, or moredirections and joined to one another at multiple predefined locations,e.g., via bonding agents, fasteners, adhesives, welding, etc.

During assembly, the superposed wires may be wound around and retainedin tension by the posts of a workpiece frame (or “jig”) to align thewires in an intercrossed pattern. One set of mutually parallel wirewindings is elongated in a first direction, e.g., aligned with a firstpre-defined load path, and another set of mutually parallel wirewindings is elongated in a second direction e.g., aligned with a secondpre-defined load path that is angled with respect to the firstdirection. Third, fourth, fifth, etc., sets may each be elongated in arespective direction that is distinct from the other sets. The first setof wire windings may be laid across and abut the second set of wirewindings without interlacing the two sets of windings. To maintain adesired shape of the engineered textile, while permitting inter-wiremovement, the two sets of wire windings are mechanically joined by first(top) and second (bobbin) threads lockstitched together in the gapsbetween the superposed wires. The lockstitched threads may be arrangedin a matrix of orthogonal rows and columns, which interleave with andabut against the wires. Alternatively, the wire windings may be joinedvia adhesives, fasteners, fusing, etc.

Assembling the above-mentioned engineered textiles may be complicated bya variety of considerations, including retaining the superposed wires intension while joining them together, and joining the wires in a mannerthat allows for wire-on-wire translation while preventing the textilefrom losing shape or becoming tangled once removed from the jig. Othercomplications may include preventing wire movement during stitching,locating a central gap defined between each quadrangle of crisscrossedwires, and precision lockstitching together the top and bobbin threadsin these central gaps, etc. To address any one or more or all of theforegoing issues, an automated manufacturing system is presented thatemploys a jig for maintaining wire positioning and tension, and a visionor laser-guided stitching head for precision locating of interwire gapsand interconnecting the superposed wires. For some implementations, theautomated manufacturing system may utilize a precision positioningapparatus with a laser-based alignment sensor to hold, orient, anddynamically position the jig and, thus, the superposed wires.Additionally, or alternatively, a stitching end effector with astitching head and a high-precision digital camera is mounted to a robotarm or carriage for controller-automated, vision guided stitching of thesuperposed wires.

Aspects of this disclosure are directed to controller-regulated,vision-guided stitching systems for assembling engineered textiles. Inan example, an automated manufacturing system is presented forconstructing an engineered textile from a workpiece composed ofsuperposed wires. By way of contrast to existing sewing systems that aredelimited to stitching together woven fabrics cutouts, polymeric sheets,natural and synthetic leather panels, etc., this automated manufacturingsystem is generally intended to mechanically connect an unwoven,intercrossed array of wire windings. These windings may be formed fromany suitable natural or synthetic material, including extruded elasticand inelastic polymers, braided fibers, combinations thereof, and thelike. The automated manufacturing system includes a movable endeffector, such as a pneumatic articulating robot arm or a motor-drivencarriage. A stitching head, which is mounted to the movable endeffector, includes one or more thread feeders and a sewing needle thatcooperatively generate stitches. Also mounted to the movable endeffector is an image capture device that captures images of theworkpiece and outputs data indicative thereof.

Continuing with the discussion of the above example, the automatedmanufacturing system also includes a resident or remote systemcontroller, which may be embodied as an electronic control unit or anetwork of distributed controllers or control modules, for regulatingoperation of one or more resident processing systems. The systemcontroller is wired or wirelessly connected to the movable end effector,stitching head, and image capture device. This controller is programmedto receive, from the image capture device, the data indicative of thecaptured image of the workpiece, and locate, from the captured image,multiple gaps each defined between a quadrangle of the superposed wires.Once the interwire gaps are located, the system controller transmits oneor more command signals to the movable end effector to sequentially movethe stitching head across the workpiece and thereby align the sewingneedle with each of the identified gaps. The system controllerconcurrently transmits one or more command signals to the stitching headto insert a succession of stitches within the gaps between thesuperposed wires.

Other aspects of this disclosure are directed to footwear, apparel,sporting goods, and other consumer products fabricated with any of thedisclosed engineered textiles. As an example, an article of footwear ispresented that includes an upper designed to receive and attach to afoot of a user, and a sole structure that is attached to the upper anddesigned to support thereon the user's foot. The upper is fabricated, inwhole or in part, from an engineered textile and, thus, includes one ormore upper segments that are manufactured from engineered textiles. Theengineered textile may include a first set of mutually parallel wirewindings elongated in a first direction, and a second set of mutuallyparallel wire windings elongated in a second direction that is distinctfrom (e.g., obliquely angled or substantially orthogonal to) the firstdirection. The first and second sets of wire windings are superposedsuch that the first set abuts the second set in an unwoven, intercrossedpattern defining an array of quadrangles each having a central gap.First (top) and second (bobbin) threads are elongated in a third and,optionally, a fourth direction that are respectively parallel withrespect to the first and second directions. In another embodiment, thefirst and second threads may define a third direction that is obliqueand/or orthogonal to the first and second directions. These two threadsare lockstitched together with a respective lockstitch disposed in eachcentral gap between intercrossed wire windings.

Additional aspects of the present disclosure are directed to techniques,algorithms, and logic for operating any of the disclosed systems or formanufacturing any of the disclosed engineered textiles. For instance,non-transitory, computer-readable media (CRM) are presented that storeinstructions executable by one or more processors of a system controllerof an automated manufacturing system. These instructions cause theautomated manufacturing system to perform a set of system operations,including receiving, from an image capture device mounted to a movableend effector, data indicative of a captured image of a workpiece. Theworkpiece is composed of multiple unwoven, superposed wire windings,e.g., aligned in a crisscross pattern. The movable end effector also hasmounted thereto a stitching head with a thread feeder and a sewingneedle that are cooperatively configured to generate stitches. Thestored instructions also cause the system to locate, from the capturedimage of the workpiece, multiple gaps defined between individualquadrangles of the superposed, intercrossed wires. One or more commandsignals are sent to the movable end effector to sequentially move thestitching head and thereby align the sewing needle with each of thegaps. In addition, one or more command signals are sent to the stitchinghead to insert a succession of stitches within the gaps between thesuperposed wires.

Additional aspects of this disclosure are directed to methods formanufacturing any of the disclosed engineered textiles and methods forcontrolling any of the disclosed systems and devices. In an example, amethod is presented for operating an automated manufacturing system forconstructing an engineered textile from a workpiece composed ofsuperposed wires. This representative method includes, in any order andin any combination with any of the above or below disclosed features andoptions: receiving, via a system controller from an image capture devicemounted to a movable end effector, data indicative of a captured imageof a workpiece, the movable end effector having mounted thereto astitching head with a thread feeder and a sewing needle cooperativelyconfigured to generate stitches; locating, via the system controllerfrom the captured image of the workpiece, multiple gaps each definedbetween a quadrangle of the superposed wires; commanding, via the systemcontroller, the movable end effector to sequentially move the stitchinghead and thereby align the sewing needle with each of the gaps; andcommanding, via the system controller, the stitching head to insert asuccession of stitches within the gaps between the superposed wires.

For any of the disclosed manufacturing systems, methods, and CRM, thesystem controller may identify, within the captured image of theworkpiece, respective sets of intersecting points (e.g., four points perset) of the superposed wires defining the quadrangles. The controllerthen determines, within each respective set, a center of a respectivediagonal line segment connecting an opposing pair of the intersectingpoints. In this instance, locating the quadrangle gaps includesdesignating the center of the diagonal line segment of each set ofintersecting points as one of the gaps. As another option, the systemcontroller may identify, within the captured workpiece image, arespective estimated centerline for each superposed wire, and constructthe quadrangles of the superposed wires from these estimatedcenterlines. In this instance, locating the gaps includes designating acentral region within each of the quadrangles between the estimatedcenterlines as one of the gaps. Optionally, the system controller mayidentify, within the captured image, at least two intersecting points ofthe superposed wires each defining a respective corner of a quadrangle,and determine a central region for each quadrangle at a calibrated anglefrom a line segment connecting the two respective corners and acalibrated distance from one of the corners. In this instance, locatingthe gaps includes designating the central region of each quadrangle asone of the gaps.

For any of the disclosed manufacturing systems, methods, and CRM, thesystem controller may derive, calculate, retrieve, or look-up(hereinafter “determine”) path plan data for the stitching head toinsert the succession of stitches within the gaps between the superposedwires. The path plan data includes a path origin, a path destination,and a stitch route for traversing the stitching head from the origin tothe destination. As part of this procedure, the system controller mayoptionally generate a trace of the stitch route, determine start and endpositions within the captured image of the workpiece, and superimposethe stitch route trace onto the captured image with the originoverlapping the start position and the destination overlapping the endposition. the system controller may then determine multiple calibratedalignment points on the stitch route, determine a respectivedisplacement, if any, between each calibrated alignment point and arespective alignment location in the workpiece image, and determine arespective trace correction to offset each respective displacement.

For any of the disclosed engineered textiles, CRM, manufacturing systemsand methods, the manufacturing system may be equipped with a workpieceframe that is structurally configured to retain the superposed wires ina tensioned, crisscrossed pattern. The workpiece frame may be fabricatedwith multiple adjoining casing walls that define therebetween an innerframe space across which the workpiece is stretched. A series of postsproject, e.g., substantially orthogonally, from the casing walls, withthe posts spaced from one another along the perimeter of the inner framespace. In this instance, the wires are wound around and suspended fromthe posts.

For any of the disclosed manufacturing systems, methods, and CRM, themanufacturing system may be equipped with one or more sensors thattrack, in real-time, the movement of the stitching head relative to acalibrated origin position. The system controller may optionally receiveone or more sensor signals from one or more position sensors indicativeof real-time positions of the stitching head. From the received sensorsignal(s) and captured workpiece image(s), the controller may determinean estimated distance between each real-time position of the stitchinghead and a next adjacent one of the gaps. In this instance, commandingthe movable end effector to sequentially move the stitching headincludes estimating multiple desired trajectories each based on theestimated distance between a real-time position of the stitching headand a respective next adjacent gap. The system controller mayconcurrently determine, one-at-a-time in real-time from the receivedsensor signal(s) and captured workpiece image(s), a respective nextadjacent gap closest to each real-time position of the stitching head.

For any of the disclosed engineered textiles, CRM, manufacturing systemsand methods, the stitching head may be equipped with a needle receiverthat is operable to reciprocally translate the sewing needle, a bobbincase that is operable to feed bobbin thread, and a shuttle hook that isoperable to create a lockstitch between the bobbin thread and a topthread fed from the thread feeder. For some system configurations, themovable end effector is comprised of a support frame attached to a robotarm. Alternatively, the movable end effector is comprised of a supportcarriage attached to a slide track frame.

The above summary does not represent every embodiment or every aspect ofthe present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing summary merely provides anexemplification of some of the novel concepts and features set forthherein. The above features and advantages, and other features andattendant advantages of this disclosure, will be readily apparent fromthe following detailed description of illustrated examples andrepresentative modes for carrying out the present disclosure when takenin connection with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.Moreover, this disclosure expressly includes any and all combinationsand subcombinations of the elements and features presented above andbelow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a lateral, side-view illustration of a representative articleof footwear with one or more engineered textile upper segments inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a bottom-view illustration of the representative article offootwear of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is an elevated, perspective-view illustration of a representativeathletic shoe with an engineered textile upper in accord with aspects ofthe disclosed concepts.

FIG. 3 is a plan-view illustration of a representative workpiece frame(“jig”) retaining therein a representative workpiece composed ofunwoven, superposed wires tensioned in a crisscrossed pattern.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a representative automatedmanufacturing system for constructing engineered textiles fromworkpieces composed of unwoven, superposed wires in accord with aspectsof the disclosed concepts.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a representative control algorithmwith logic for controlling operation of an automated manufacturingsystem, which may correspond to memory-stored instructions executed by aresident or remote controller, control-logic circuitry, programmableelectronic control unit, or other integrated circuit (IC) device or anetwork of IC devices in accord with aspects of the disclosed concepts.

The present disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, and some representative embodiments are shown by wayof example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. Itshould be understood, however, that the novel aspects of this disclosureare not limited to the particular forms illustrated in theabove-enumerated drawings. Rather, the disclosure is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, combinations, subcombinations, permutations,groupings, and alternatives falling within the scope of this disclosureas encompassed by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure broadly relate to an article offootwear formed using one or more non-woven engineered textiles, andmanufacturing methods for creating such textiles. In general, theengineered textiles of the present disclosure are comprised from aplurality of tensile strands that may be selectively positioned andoriented along certain specified load paths such that the textile maypredictably respond during certain functional activities. Because thetextile is formed without a weave, material integrity may devolve into aspaghetti-like mess of strands absent some manner of joining adjacentlayers. As such, the present disclosure broadly relates to manners ofadaptively joining adjacent layers of obliquely angled tensile strandsabsent a weave. As described, it is preferred if the manner of joiningpermits some degree of relative wire movement, as opposed to rigidlylocking all strands into a rigid alignment. This local movement mayallow the textile to move and respond any flexure of the wearer's bodythroughout the functional activity while still maintaining overallmaterial integrity. While the present disclosure primarily describesjoining via a lock stitch at wire intersection points, such should beregarded as merely an example unless so limited by the claims.

This disclosure is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms.Representative examples of the disclosure are shown in the drawings andwill be described in detail herein with the understanding that theserepresentative examples are provided as an exemplification of thedisclosed principles, not limitations of the broad aspects of thedisclosure. To that extent, elements and limitations that are describedin the Abstract, Technical Field, Background, Summary, and DetailedDescription sections, but not explicitly set forth in the claims, shouldnot be incorporated into the claims, singly or collectively, byimplication, inference or otherwise.

For purposes of the present detailed description, unless specificallydisclaimed: the singular includes the plural and vice versa; the words“and” and “or” shall be both conjunctive and disjunctive; the words“any” and “all” shall both mean “any and all”; and the words“including”, “comprising”, “having”, “containing”, and the like shalleach mean “including without limitation.” Moreover, words ofapproximation, such as “about,” “almost”, “generally”, “substantially”,“approximately”, and the like, may be used herein in the sense of “at,near, or nearly at,” or “within 0-5% of,” or “within acceptablemanufacturing tolerances”, or any logical combination thereof, forexample. Lastly, directional adjectives and adverbs, such as fore, aft,medial, lateral, proximal, distal, vertical, horizontal, front, back,left, right, etc., may be with respect to an article of footwear whenworn on a user's foot and operatively oriented with a ground-engagingbottom surface of the sole structure seated on a flat surface, forexample.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numbers refer tolike features throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1A arepresentative article of footwear, which is designated generally at 10and portrayed herein for purposes of discussion as an athletic shoe or“sneaker”. The illustrated article of footwear 10—also referred toherein as “footwear” or “shoe” for brevity—is an exemplary applicationwith which novel aspects and features of this disclosure may bepracticed. In the same vein, implementation of the present concepts bythe illustrated automated manufacturing system should also beappreciated as a representative implementation of the disclosedconcepts. It will therefore be understood that aspects of thisdisclosure may be integrated into other footwear designs, may beincorporated into any logically relevant type of consumer product, andmay be carried out by other automated manufacturing systemarchitectures. As used herein, the terms “shoe” and “footwear”,including permutations thereof, may be used interchangeably andsynonymously to reference any suitable type of garment worn on a humanfoot. Lastly, features presented in the drawings are not necessarily toscale and are provided purely for instructional purposes. Thus, thespecific and relative dimensions shown in the drawings are not to beconstrued as limiting.

The representative article of footwear 10 is generally depicted in FIGS.1A and 1B as a bipartite construction that is primarily composed of afoot-receiving upper 12 mounted on top of a subjacent sole structure 14.For ease of reference, footwear 10 may be divided into three anatomicalregions: a forefoot region R_(FF), a midfoot region R_(MF), and ahindfoot (heel) region R_(HF), as shown in FIG. 1 . Footwear 10 may alsobe divided along a vertical plane into a lateral segment S_(LA)—a distalhalf of the shoe 10 farthest from the sagittal plane of the humanbody—and a medial segment S_(ME)—a proximal half of the shoe 10 closestto the sagittal plane of the human body. In accordance with recognizedanatomical classification, the forefoot region R_(FF) is located at thefront of the footwear 10 and generally corresponds with the phalanges(toes), metatarsals, and any interconnecting joints thereof. Interposedbetween the forefoot and hindfoot regions R_(FF) and R_(HF) is themidfoot region R_(MF), which generally corresponds with the cuneiform,navicular and cuboid bones (i.e., the arch area of the foot). Hindfootregion R_(HF), in contrast, is located at the rear of the footwear 10and generally corresponds with the talus (ankle) and calcaneus (heel)bones. Both lateral and medial segments S_(LA) and S_(ME) of thefootwear 10 extend through all three anatomical regions R_(FF), R_(MF),R_(HF), and each corresponds to a respective transverse side of thefootwear 10. While only a single shoe 10 for a left foot of a user isshown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a mirrored, substantially identicalcounterpart for a left foot of a user may be provided. Recognizably, theshape, size, material composition, and method of manufacture of the shoe10 may be varied, singly or collectively, to accommodate practically anyconventional or nonconventional footwear application.

With reference again to FIG. 1A, the upper 12 is depicted as having ashell-like closed toe and heel configuration for encasing a human foot.Upper 12 of FIG. 1A is generally defined by three adjoining sections,namely a toe box 12A, a vamp 12B and a rear quarter 12C. The toe box 12Ais shown as a rounded forward tip of the upper 12 that extends fromdistal to proximal phalanges to cover and protect the user's toes. Bycomparison, the vamp 12B is an arched midsection of the upper 12 that islocated aft of the toe box 12A and extends from the metatarsals to thecuboid. As shown, the vamp 12B also provides a series of lace eyelets 16and a shoe tongue 18. Positioned aft of the vamp 12B is a rear quarter12C that extends from the transverse tarsal joint to wrap around thecalcaneus bone, and includes the rear end and rear sides of the upper12. While portrayed in the drawings as comprising three primarysegments, the upper 12 may be fabricated as a single-piece constructionor may be composed of any number of segments, including a toe shield,heel cap 30, ankle cuff, interior liner, etc. For sandal and slipperapplications, the upper 12 may take on an open toe or open heelconfiguration, or may be replaced with a single strap or multipleinterconnected straps.

The upper 12 portion of the footwear 10 may be fabricated from any oneor combination of a variety of materials, such as textiles, engineeredfoams, polymers, natural and synthetic leathers, etc. Individualsegments of the upper 12, once assembled or cut to shape and size, maybe stitched, adhesively bonded, fastened, welded or otherwise joinedtogether to form an interior void for comfortably receiving a foot. Theindividual material elements of the upper 12 may be selected and locatedwith respect to the footwear 10 in order to impart desired properties ofdurability, air-permeability, wear-resistance, flexibility, appearance,and comfort, for example. An ankle opening 15 in the rear quarter 12C ofthe upper 12 provides access to the interior of the shoe 10. A shoelace20, strap, buckle, or other commercially available mechanism may beutilized to modify the girth of the upper 12 to more securely retain thefoot within the interior of the shoe 10 as well as to facilitate entryand removal of the foot from the upper 12. Shoelace 20 may be threadedthrough a series of eyelets 16 in or attached to the upper 12; thetongue 18 may extend between the lace 20 and the interior void of theupper 12.

Sole structure 14 is rigidly secured to the upper 12 such that the solestructure 14 extends between the upper 12 and a support surface uponwhich a user stands. In effect, the sole structure 14 functions as anintermediate support platform that separates and protects the user'sfoot from the ground. In addition to attenuating ground reaction forcesand providing cushioning for the foot, sole structure 14 of FIGS. 1A and1B may provide traction, impart stability, and help to limit variousfoot motions, such as inadvertent foot inversion and eversion. It isenvisioned that the sole structure 14 may be attached to the upper 12via any presently available or hereinafter developed suitable means. Forat least some applications, the upper 12 may be coupled directly to themidsole 24 and, thus, lack a direct coupling to either the insole 22 orthe outsole 26. By way of non-limiting example, the upper 12 may beadhesively attached to only an inside periphery of a midsole sidewall21, e.g., secured with a 10 mm bonding allowance via priming, cementing,and pressing.

In accordance with the illustrated example, the sole structure 14 isfabricated as a sandwich structure with a foot-contacting insole 22(FIG. 1A), an intermediate midsole 24, and a bottom-most outsole 26.Alternative sole structure configurations may be fabricated with greateror fewer than three layers. Insole 22 is located within an interior voidof the footwear 10, operatively located at a lower portion of the upper12, such that the insole 22 abuts a plantar surface of the foot.Underneath the insole 22 is a midsole 24 that incorporates one or morematerials or embedded elements that enhance the comfort, performance,and/or ground-reaction-force attenuation properties of footwear 10.These elements and materials may include, individually or in anycombination, a polymer foam material, such as polyurethane or ethylvinyl acetate (EVA), filler materials, moderators, air-filled bladders,plates, lasting elements, or motion control members. Outsole 26 islocated underneath the midsole 24, defining only some or all of thebottom-most, ground-engaging portion of the footwear 10. The outsole 26may be formed from a natural or synthetic rubber material that providesa durable and wear-resistant surface for contacting the ground. Inaddition, the outsole 26 may be contoured and textured to enhance thetraction (i.e., friction) properties between footwear 10 and theunderlying support surface.

With reference now to FIG. 2 , there is shown another representativearticle of footwear, which is designated generally at 110 and portrayedherein for purposes of discussion as an athletic shoe of the basketballtype. Although differing in appearance, the athletic shoe 110 of FIG. 2may take on any of the features, options, and alternatives describedabove with respect to the footwear 10 presented in FIGS. 1A-1B, and viceversa. For instance, the athletic shoe 110 of FIG. 2 includes afoot-securing upper 112 that is seated on top of a foot-supporting solestructure 114. Athletic shoe 110 is also assembled with an elongatedtongue 118 that extends between a shoelace 120 and an interiorfoot-receiving void of the upper 112. By way of comparison, the footwear10 of FIG. 1A is assembled with one or more discrete upper sections,such as midfoot vamp section 32, each fabricated from an engineeredtextile formed from superposed, interstitched wires. Footwear 110 ofFIG. 2 , on the other hand, is assembled with an upper 112 having anouter surface that is fabricated almost entirely from the engineeredtextile material 132. In particular, the engineered textile 132 surfaceof upper 112 extends from a forward edges of the toe box 112A, throughboth sides of the vamp section 112B, and around the rear quarter 112C.An optional translucent scrim layer 134 extends across and covers selectsections of the upper's 112 engineered textile 132 surface, providingstructural reinforcement to those select segments of the upper 112.

Inset within FIG. 2 are enlarged illustrations of the engineered textile132 used to fabricate the exterior surface of the footwear upper 112. Inaccord with the illustrated example, the engineered textile 132generally comprises or, for at least some implementations, consistsessentially of two sets of wire windings 140 and 142 that areinterconnected via an array of interleaved stitch seams formed fromopposing threads 144 and 146. The windings of the first set of wirewindings 140 are substantially parallel to one another and all elongatedin a first direction D1, e.g., corresponding to a first pre-defined loadpath. In the same vein, the windings of the second set of wire windings140 are substantially parallel to one another and all elongated in asecond direction D2, which may be generally orthogonal to the firstdirection D1 and may correspond to a second pre-defined load path. Whileshown arranged in a square array of perpendicular rows and columns, itis envisioned that the first set of wire windings 140 may be obliquelyangled with respect to the second set of wire windings 142. Thesewindings 140, 142 may be formed from an organic or inorganic material,including extruded elastic polymers, braided elastic fibers, inelasticpolymer fibers, combinations thereof, and the like. In some embodiments,the strands 140, 142 may comprise one or more of an aliphatic orsemi-aromatic polyamide fiber, such as PA6, PA66, an aromatic polyesterfiber, such as VECTRAN®—manufactured by Kuraray Co., Ltd, an aramidfiber, such as KEVLAR®—manufactured by DuPont de Nemours, Inc, apolypropylene fiber or a high modulus polyethylene fiber. It may bedesirable, depending on desired application, that the diameters of thewindings 140, 142 be at least 50-75% larger or, in some embodiments, atleast 100-200% larger or, in some embodiments, 3-times to 4-times largerthan the diameters of the stitching threads 144, 146.

To help ensure that the wire windings 140, 142 are assembled in a mannerthat allows for relative wire movement and/or wire-on-wire translation,the first set of wire windings 140 are located on top of the second setof wire windings 142 in an abutting, non-woven manner. Rather thaninterlace the wire windings 140, 142 in an alternating over-undercomposition, as might be seen in a conventional woven textile sheet, thefirst set of wire windings 140 lays across an upper face of the secondset of wire windings 142 in an unwoven, intercrossed pattern. In sodoing, first wire windings 140 may translate and/or stretch in the firstdirection D1, and second wire windings 142 may translate and/or stretchin the second direction D2 independent of or contemporaneous with thetranslating/stretching first wire windings 140. Intersecting the wirewindings 140, 142 in a crisscross arrangement defines an array ofquadrangles, four of which are shown hidden in the upper righthand insetview of FIG. 2 and designated generally as 148. These quadrangles 148are portrayed in the Figures as right-rectangular polygons;nevertheless, each quadrangle 148 may take on other shapes and sizes,which may be similar to or distinct from the quadrilateral shapes of theother quadrangles 148. At the midpoint of each quadrangle 148 is acentral through hole or “interwire gap” 150.

The stacked wires 140, 142 are mechanically joined in a manner thatmaintains a desired perimeter shape of the assembled engineered textile132, yet does not impede the above-described wire-on-wire movement.According to the illustrated example, a first thread 144—known in sewingparlance as the “top thread”—is interlaced with a second thread146—known as the “bobbin thread”—through an automated stitching processin order to form an assortment of substantially linear stitch seams thatare interleaved with and bind together the crisscrossed sets of wirewindings 140, 142. The upper righthand inset view of FIG. 2 depicts oneset of the linear stitch seams elongated in a third direction D3 that issubstantially parallel with respect to the first direction D1 of thefirst wire set 140. An optional second set of the linear stitch seams iselongated in a fourth direction D4 that is substantially parallel withrespect to the second direction D2 of the second wire set 142.Fashioning the first set of stitch seams may be achieved by drawing thefirst and second threads 144, 146 in the third direction D3 andsequentially lockstitching them together in the central gaps 150 betweeneach grouping of intercrossed wires. Likewise, the second set of stitchseams may be fashioned by drawing the first and second threads 144, 146in the fourth direction D4 and sequentially lockstitching them togetherin the central gaps 150 between each grouping of intercrossed wires.This process is systematically repeated along parallel trajectoriesaligned with the third and fourth directions D3 and D4 until a desirednumber of linear stitch seams is achieved. As seen in the lowerleft-hand inset view of FIG. 2 , the interlocking threads 144, 146 maybe drawn in directions that are oblique with respect to the intercrossedwires.

It should be recognized that the structural integrity of the engineeredtextile 132 may be optimized by placing a lockstitch inside eachinterwire gap 150; however, it is within the scope of this disclosure toplace a lockstitch in every other gap 150 or in only selected ones ofthe gaps 150, e.g., using controller-automated, vision-guided stitchingtechniques. Optimized structural integrity may be further optimized bypositioning a stitch seam between every pair of neighboring, parallelwire windings 140, 142. If desired, however, a seem may be placedbetween every other pair of neighboring windings 140, 142 or only selectpairs of neighboring windings. In this regard, the subject disclosure isnot per se limited to a particular type of stich and, thus, may employother conventional and unconventional stitch types, includingchainstitches, lockstitches, overlock stitches, cover stitches, etc. Asyet a further option, the windings 140, 142 and threads 144, 146 may beelongated along rectilinear paths, curvilinear paths, or any assortedcombination of geometric paths.

To help retain the superposed wires in a tensioned state whileconcomitantly minimizing wire motion during the wire joining process,the superposed wire windings 140, 142 may be stretched taut across aworkpiece frame 200 (also referred to herein as “jig”) of FIG. 3 . Inaccordance with the illustrated example, the workpiece frame 200 iscomposed of multiple frame walls, namely first, second and third casingwalls 202, 204 and 206, respectively, that collectively define an innerframe space 201 across which the superposed, unwoven wires are stretchedto form a workpiece 132′. The first and second casing walls 202, 204,which are generally straight and substantially colinear, may beconnected to each other via the third wall 206, which is shown having anelongated, arcuate shape. In at least some desired implementations, thecasing walls 202, 204, 206 are integrally formed as a single-piece,unitary structure with the first and second casing walls 202, 204 eachprojecting inward from a respective end of the third casing wall 206.Clearly, the shape and size of the workpiece frame 200 of FIG. 3 ispurely representative by nature, and is therefore non-limiting in scope.

Spaced along the length of each casing wall 202, 204, 206 is a series ofmechanical fastening features 208 (e.g., snap-fastener heads) forsecuring the workpiece frame 200 to a subjacent support surface, such asthe assembly benchtop of a workstation table or a conveyor belt of amanufacturing system. Additionally, a series of cylindrical wire posts210 projects generally orthogonally from the upper surface of eachcasing wall 202, 204, 206 for receiving the superposed wire workpiece132′. Like the mechanical fastening features 208, the wire posts 210 arespaced from one another around the outer perimeter of the inner framespace 201. The unwoven, superposed wires 140, 142 are wound around thesewire posts 210 to create the preliminary workpiece 132′. Incidentally,manufacturing the engineered textile 132 may necessitate locating thesuperposed wires 140, 142 in a tensioned, crisscrossed pattern on theworkpiece frame 200 prior to joining of the wires 140, 142. Locating thesuperposed wires 140, 142 may include manually or robotically anchoringthen winding a first discrete wire in a first zigzag pattern around afirst select set of the posts 210, and subsequently anchoring thenwinding a second discrete wire in a second zigzag pattern around asecond select set of the posts 210 such that the workpiece 132′ isstretched across the inner frame space 201. The unwoven, overlappingwires 140, 142 may be joined together at multiple predefined locations,e.g., via stitching, bonding, fusing and/or fastening the wires. For afootwear application, the anchoring points of the individual wires, thedirection or directions of elongation of the individual wires, thepoints of overlap of the wires, and/or the locations of joining thewires may be data mapped to an intended user or users foot/feet toprovide, for example, improved foot retention, comfort, performance,energy return, etc.

Turning next to FIG. 4 , there is presented an automated manufacturingsystem 300 for constructing an engineered textile product, such as theengineered textile 132 surface of footwear upper 112 of FIG. 2 , from aworkpiece composed of unwoven, superposed wires, such as workpiece 132′of FIG. 3 . To remain pointed and succinct, only select components ofthe manufacturing system 300 have been shown and will be described inadditional detail below. Nevertheless, the manufacturing systems anddevices discussed herein may include numerous additional and alternativefeatures, as well as other commercially available peripheral components,for example, to carry out the various protocols and algorithms of thisdisclosure. To this end, the automated manufacturing system 300 isportrayed in the Figures and described below as having acontroller-automated, vision-guided robotic architecture;notwithstanding, the system 300 may take on other suitablearchitectures, including those using sensor-based automation andglide-track, carriage-borne precision movement.

Manufacturing system 300 uses sensor-based and/or vision-guidedstitching to automate the construction of an engineered textile having adesired shape and a set of desired functional characteristics. Therepresentative architecture of FIG. 4 employs a movable end effector,such as a wall, ceiling or floor mounted robotic stitching cell 302,that communicates, e.g., wired or wirelessly, with a robot systemcontroller 304 that governs operation of the cell 302. The roboticstitching cell 302 includes a support frame 306 mounted to a distal endof an articulating robot arm 308. Alternative embodiments may utilize amovable end effector composed of a support carriage that is slidablymounted for multidirectional movement on a slide track frame (notshown). As will be described in further detail hereinbelow, the roboticstitching cell 302 is designed to selectively complete one or morestitching operations along one or more seam joint regions of one or moreworkpieces. Movement of the articulating robot arm 308 may be providedby means of servomotors, linear and rotational transducers, pneumaticactuators, hydraulic actuators, or by any other type of logicallyapplicable actuation mechanism. In the same vein, the robot arm 308 mayhave six degrees of freedom of motion, as shown, or have any othersuitable number of degrees of freedom of motion.

A processing head for joining superposed wires, such as stitching head310, is mounted via the support frame 306 to the articulating robot arm308 above a telescoping benchtop table 312 of a manufacturing systemworkstation 314. The processing head may take on various suitableformats, including a weld head for fusing the wires, an adhesive headfor bonding the wires, a fastener head for mechanically joining thewires, etc. In accord with the illustrated example, the stitching head310 includes a first (top) thread feeder 316 through which a meteredlength of a first (top) thread is selectively discharged. Mounted inopposing spaced relation to the first thread feeder 316 is a second(bottom) thread feeder, represented in FIG. 4 as a bobbin case 318,through which a metered length of a second (bobbin) thread isselectively discharged. A sewing needle 320 is received and operativelyretained by a motor-actuated needle receiver 322. One or more integratedcircuit (IC) processors 324 internal to robot system controller 304execute stitch head control logic stored as a first control module 321in resident memory device 326 to effectuate reciprocating motion(up-and-down translation in FIG. 4 ) of the sewing needle 320 via theneedle receiver 322. A shuttle hook 328 juxtaposed with the needle 320and needle receiver 322 is operable to create a lockstitch between thebobbin thread fed from the bobbin case 318 and the top thread fed fromthe top thread feeder 316.

As indicated above, robot system controller 304 is constructed andprogrammed to automate, among other things, the movement and operationof the manufacturing system 300. Control module, module, controller,control unit, electronic control unit, processor, and any permutationsthereof may be defined to include any one or various combinations of oneor more of logic circuits, Application Specific Integrated Circuit(s)(ASIC), electronic circuit(s), central processing unit(s) (e.g.,microprocessor(s)), input/output circuit(s) and devices, appropriatesignal conditioning and buffer circuitry, and other components toprovide the described functionality, etc. Associated memory and storage(e.g., read only, programmable read only, random access, hard drive,tangible, etc.)), shown schematically at 326 in FIG. 4 , whetherresident, remote or a combination of both, store processor-executablesoftware, firmware programs, modules, routines, etc., which arecollectively represented at 321, 323 and 325.

Software, firmware, programs, instructions, routines, code, algorithms,and similar terms may be used interchangeably and synonymously to meanany processor-executable instruction sets, including calibrations andlook-up tables. The system controller 304 may be designed with a set ofcontrol routines and logic executed to provide the desired functions.Control routines are executed, such as by a central processing unit, andare operable to monitor inputs from sensing devices and other networkedcontrol modules, and execute control and diagnostic routines to controloperation of devices and actuators. Routines may be executed inreal-time, continuously, systematically, sporadically and/or at regularintervals, for example, each 100 microseconds, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25 and100 milliseconds, etc., during ongoing use or operation of the system300.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the stitching head 310 carries a high-precisiondigital camera 330 (e.g., NAC MEMRECAM MX® Processing Optic) operable tocapture, among other things, real-time digital images of a workpiece(e.g., workpiece 132′ of FIG. 3 ). This digital camera 330 operates as asensing device within a monitoring subsystem that is integrated intomanufacturing system 300, and may include an actuator-driven autofocusdevice and a multifocal module for controller operation of the autofocusdevice. The digital camera 330 senses one or more objects and generatesfeedback data, detects respective locations of select sites with respectto each object, and subsequently sends location image signals back to animage processing logic within a second memory-stored module 323. Themotorized autofocus device provides systematic precision focus upon theobjects and displacement between designated sites, e.g., by beingadjusted to be closer to and farther from each object/site. Image datagenerated by the digital camera 330 and processed through the imageprocessing module 323 is passed to the stitch head control logic storedin the first control module 321 and robot control logic stored as athird control module 325 in resident memory device 326 to automatelockstitching together the unwoven, superposed wires of an engineeredtextile workpiece.

With reference next to the flow chart of FIG. 5 , an improved method orcontrol strategy for automating operation of a manufacturing system,such as manufacturing system 300 of FIG. 4 , to create an engineeredtextile product, such as engineered textile 132 of FIG. 2 , from aworkpiece, such as workpiece 132′ of FIG. 3 , is generally described at400 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Some or all ofthe operations illustrated in FIG. 5 and described in further detailbelow may be representative of an algorithm that corresponds toprocessor-executable instructions that may be stored, for example, inmain or auxiliary or remote memory, and executed, for example, by anon-board or off-board controller, processing unit, control logiccircuit, or other module or device or network of modules/devices, toperform any or all of the above or below described functions associatedwith the disclosed concepts. It should be recognized that the order ofexecution of the illustrated operation blocks may be changed, additionalblocks may be added, and some of the blocks described may be modified,combined, or eliminated.

Method 400 begins at terminal block 401 of FIG. 5 withprocessor-executable instructions for a programmable controller orcontrol module or similarly suitable processor to call up aninitialization procedure for a closed-loop control sequence withreal-time stitch head guidance and adjustment during an automatedstitching operation. Block 401 may initialize in response to a userprompt from a system operator or technician of the robotic stitchingcell 302, or responsive to a broadcast prompt signal from a backendserver-class computer or middleware computing node tasked with governingoperation of a robotic cell, collection of robot cells, or amanufacturing facility incorporating therein one or more robot cells. Tocarry out this protocol, a control system or any combination of one ormore subsystems may be operable to receive, process, and synthesizepertinent information and inputs, and execute control logic andalgorithms to regulate various subsystems and/or subsystem components toachieve desired control targets. As part of initiating the method 400 atterminal block 401, an initial system setup may be carried out on therobotic stitching cell 302 through a suitable human machine interface(HMI), including powering on the various system components, calibratingan origin position, and identifying respective current locations of thestitch head and workpiece relative to this calibrated origin position.

Method 400 of FIG. 5 advances from terminal block 401 to input/outputblock 403 with processor-executable instructions for a control device,such as robot system controller 304, to exchange data with an imagecapture device, such as high-precision digital camera 330 of FIG. 4 .Data generated by the image capture device may be indicative of areal-time captured image or set of images of a plan view and/orperspective view of a workpiece. At predefined process block 405,instructions are provided for the control device to analyze the capturedworkpiece image(s) and, through this evaluation, locate the interwiregaps within the quadrangles defined by the crisscrossed, superposedwires of the workpiece. By way of non-limiting example, robot systemcontroller 304 of FIG. 4 may employ image processing module 323 storedwithin memory device 326 to: (1) process and filter the captured imageof the workpiece (e.g., focusing, zooming, sharpening, edge detection,object detection, etc.); (2) scan the image to identify respective setsof two, three, or four intersecting points of the superposed wires thatcollectively define, in whole or in part, each quadrangle; (3) for eachrespective set of intersecting points, derive a center of a respectivediagonal line segment that connects an opposing pair of the intersectingpoints (e.g., a geometric “diagonal” connecting opposite vertices of apolygon); and (4) designating the centers of the diagonal line segmentsof the intersecting point sets as the interwire gaps.

Accurate gap identification and location for provisioning vision-guidedprecision stitching may be achieved through various supplementary oralternative techniques to those described in the preceding section. Forinstance, robot system controller 304 may employ image processing module323 to: (1) process and filter the captured workpiece image(s); (2) fromthese processed and filtered image(s), approximate a centerline orlateral edge line for each superposed wire; (3) construct the superposedwire quadrangles from these estimated centerlines/edge lines; and (4)designate a central region within each quadrangle between the estimatedcenterlines as one of the gaps. Optionally, robot system controller 304may employ image processing module 323 to: (1) process and filter thecaptured image of the workpiece; (2) evaluate the processed and filteredworkpiece image(s) to derive at least two wire intersecting points thatdefine at least two respective corners on a common edge of eachquadrangle; (3) determine, for each quadrangle, a central region definedat: (i) a calibrated angle from a line segment connecting the tworespective corners, and (ii) a calibrated distance from one of therespective corners; and (4) categorize these central regions of thequadrangles as the interwire gaps.

Rather than identifying gap locations for each workpiece on anindividualized basis, predefined process block 405 may provideproduct-specific routing instructions for processing a succession ofworkpieces intended to make multiples of a particular product. Forinstance, robot system controller 304 of FIG. 4 may lookup or otherwiseretrieve from resident memory device 326 a customized set of pre-definedpath plan instructions that have been mapped out for the stitching headto insert a succession of stitches within the gaps between thesuperposed wires. The foregoing path plan data may comprise, among otherthings, a stitch head start position or “origin,” a stitch head endposition or “destination,” and a calibrated stitching route for movingthe stitching head from the origin to the destination in order to insertthe stitches at designated points along the route. Other path plan datamay include stitch head speed, fore-aft pitch angle and rate, lateralpitch angle and rate, etc.

Once the system identifies the desired gap locations into which stitcheswill be inserted for mechanically interconnecting the superposed wiresof the workpiece, method 400 proceeds to process block 407 and initiatesautomated stitching. To do so, robot system controller 304 may transmitone or more electronic command signals to the articulating robot arm 308to sequentially move the stitching head 310 across the exposed face ofthe workpiece 132′ and precisely align the sewing needle 320 with eachof the quadrangle's internal gaps. The vision-based guidance system maybe employed to ensure accurate alignment of the needle receiver 322 andshuttle hook 328 with respect to the interwire gaps prior to inserting astitch. Process block 407 may also provide instructions that direct therobot system controller 304 to transmit one or more electronic commandsignals to the stitching head 310 to insert a succession of stitcheswithin the gaps between the superposed wires.

Precision control of the automated stitching process may be furtherenabled through real-time position tracking of the stitching head 310.One or more optical position sensors 332 may be mounted at discretelocations of the robotic stitching cell 302 to determine real-timepositions of the stitching head 310, e.g., relative to a calibratedorigin position. Robot system controller 304 receives from the positionsensor(s) 332 one or more sensor signals that are indicative of thereal-time positions of the stitching head 310. If so desired, the systemcontroller 304 may determine, from the received sensor signal(s) and thecaptured image(s) of the workpiece, an estimated distance between eachreal-time position of the stitching head 310 and a respective locationof the next gap adjacent the stitching head's current position.Automated movement of the articulating robot arm 308 may includeestimating a desired trajectory for moving the stitching head 310 fromits current position to the location of the next gap based on thecorresponding estimated distance between the stitching head and nextadjacent gap. From the received sensor signal(s) and the capturedworkpiece image(s), the robot system controller 304 may alsolocate—one-at-a-time in real-time—the next adjacent gap that is closestto the current real-time position of the stitching head 310.

It may be desirable, for any of the above implementations, to makereal-time adjustments to the stitching route parameters in order toaccommodate part-to-part variations, manufacturing tolerances,inadvertent wire displacement, etc. This may include process block 409providing instructions for the system controller to pull a trajectorytrace of the stitch route, identifying start and end positions within acaptured image of the workpiece, and superimposing the trace of thestitch route onto the captured image of the workpiece with the originoverlapping the start position and the destination overlapping the endposition. After superimposing the trace onto the captured image, thesystem controller identifies one or more part-specific calibratedalignment points on the stitch route, and determines if there is anydisplacement between each calibrated alignment point and a correspondingalignment location in the image of the workpiece. If so, the systemresponsively determines and implements a respective trace correction tooffset each respective displacement. Once the foregoing operations arecompleted, the method 400 of FIG. 5 may advance to terminal block 411and terminate, or may loop back to terminal block 401 and run in acontinuous loop.

Aspects of this disclosure may be implemented, in some embodiments,through a computer-executable program of instructions, such as programmodules, generally referred to as software applications or applicationprograms executed by any of a controller or the controller variationsdescribed herein. Software may include, in non-limiting examples,routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures thatperform particular tasks or implement particular data types. Thesoftware may form an interface to allow a computer to react according toa source of input. The software may also cooperate with other codesegments to initiate a variety of tasks in response to data received inconjunction with the source of the received data. The software may bestored on any of a variety of memory media, such as CD-ROM, magneticdisk, and semiconductor memory (e.g., various types of RAM or ROM).

Moreover, aspects of the present disclosure may be practiced with avariety of computer-system and computer-network configurations,including multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable-consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers,and the like. In addition, aspects of the present disclosure may bepracticed in distributed-computing environments where tasks areperformed by resident and remote-processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed-computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer-storage media including memory storage devices. Aspects of thepresent disclosure may therefore be implemented in connection withvarious hardware, software or a combination thereof, in a computersystem or other processing system.

Any of the methods described herein may include machine readableinstructions for execution by: (a) a processor, (b) a controller, and/or(c) any other suitable processing device. Any algorithm, software,control logic, protocol or method disclosed herein may be embodied assoftware stored on a tangible medium such as, for example, a flashmemory, solid-state memory, a hard drive, a CD-ROM, a digital versatiledisk (DVD), or other memory devices. The entire algorithm, controllogic, protocol, or method, and/or parts thereof, may alternatively beexecuted by a device other than a controller and/or embodied in firmwareor dedicated hardware in an available manner (e.g., implemented by anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logicdevice (PLD), a field programmable logic device (FPLD), discrete logic,etc.). Further, although specific algorithms are described withreference to flowcharts depicted herein, many other methods forimplementing the example machine-readable instructions may alternativelybe used.

Aspects of the present disclosure have been described in detail withreference to the illustrated embodiments; those skilled in the art willrecognize, however, that many modifications may be made thereto withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. The presentdisclosure is not limited to the precise construction and compositionsdisclosed herein; any and all modifications, changes, and variationsapparent from the foregoing descriptions are within the scope of thedisclosure as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the presentconcepts expressly include any and all combinations and subcombinationsof the preceding elements and features. Additional features may bereflected in the following clauses:

Clause 1: an automated manufacturing system for constructing anengineered textile from a workpiece composed of superposed wires, themanufacturing system comprising: a movable end effector; a processinghead mounted to the movable end effector; and a system controlleroperatively connected to the movable end effector and the processinghead, the system controller being programmed to: determine a pluralityof predefined joint locations of the superposed wires; command themovable end effector to sequentially move the processing head to alignwith each of the predefined joint locations; and command the processinghead to join the superposed wires at the predefined joint locations toform the engineered textile.

Clause 2: a manufacturing system of clause 1, wherein the processinghead includes a stitching head with a thread feeder and a sewing needlecooperatively configured to generate stitches.

Clause 3: a manufacturing system of clause 2, further comprising animage capture device mounted to the movable end effector and configuredto capture an image of the workpiece and output data indicative thereof.

Clause 4: a manufacturing system of clause 3, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: receive, from the image capturedevice, the data indicative of the captured image of the workpiece,wherein determining the plurality of predefined joint locations includeslocating, from the captured image of the workpiece, multiple gaps eachdefined between a quadrangle of the superposed wires, and whereincommanding the processing head to join the superposed wires includescommanding the stitching head to insert a succession of stitches withinthe gaps between the superposed wires.

Clause 5: a manufacturing system of clause 4, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: identify, within the captured imageof the workpiece, respective sets of intersecting points of thesuperposed wires defining the quadrangles; and determine, within each ofthe respective sets, a center of a respective diagonal line segmentconnecting an opposing pair of the intersecting points, wherein locatingthe gaps includes designating the center of the diagonal line segment ofeach of the sets of intersecting points as one of the gaps.

Clause 6: a manufacturing system of clause 4, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: identify, within the captured imageof the workpiece, an estimated centerline for each of the superposedwires; and construct the quadrangles of the superposed wires from theestimated centerlines, wherein locating the gaps includes designating acentral region within each of the quadrangles between the estimatedcenterlines as one of the gaps.

Clause 7: a manufacturing system of clause 4, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: identify, within the captured imageof the workpiece, two intersecting points of the superposed wiresdefining two respective corners for each of the quadrangles; anddetermine, for each of the quadrangles, a central region at a calibratedangle from a line segment connecting the two respective corners and at acalibrated distance from one of the respective corners, wherein locatingthe gaps includes designating the central region of each of thequadrangles as one of the gaps.

Clause 8: a manufacturing system of any one of clauses 1 to 8, whereinthe system controller is further programmed to determine path plan datafor moving the processing head to join the superposed wires at thepredefined joint locations, the path plan data including an origin, adestination, and a joint route for traversing the processing head fromthe origin to the destination.

Clause 9: a manufacturing system of clause 8, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: generate a trace of the jointroute; determine a start position and an end position within thecaptured image of the workpiece; and superimpose the trace of the jointroute onto the captured image of the workpiece with the originoverlapping the start position and the destination overlapping the endposition.

Clause 10: a manufacturing system of clause 9, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: determine a plurality of calibratedalignment points on the stitch route; determine a respectivedisplacement, if any, between each of the calibrated alignment pointsand a respective alignment location in the image of the workpiece; anddetermine a respective trace correction to offset each of the respectivedisplacements.

Clause 11: a manufacturing system of any one of clauses 1 to 10, furthercomprising a workpiece frame configured to retain the superposed wiresin a tensioned, crisscrossed pattern.

Clause 12: a manufacturing system of clause 11, wherein the workpieceframe includes a plurality of adjoining casing walls defining an innerframe space across which the workpiece is stretched, and a series ofposts projecting from the casing walls and spaced from one another alongthe perimeter of the inner frame space, the wires being wound around theposts.

Clause 13: a manufacturing system of any one of clauses 1 to 12, furthercomprising a position sensor configured to determine real-time positionsof the processing head relative to a calibrated origin position andoutput sensor signals indicative thereof.

Clause 14: a manufacturing system of clause 13, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to: receive, from the position sensor,the sensor signals indicative of the real-time positions of theprocessing head; and determine, from the received sensor signals and acaptured image of the workpiece, an estimated distance between each ofthe real-time positions of the processing head and a next adjacent oneof the joint locations; and estimate a plurality of desired trajectorieseach based on the estimated distance between the real-time position ofthe processing head and the respective next adjacent one of the jointlocations.

Clause 15: a manufacturing system of clause 14, wherein the systemcontroller is further programmed to determine, one-at-a-time inreal-time from the received sensor signals and the captured image of theworkpiece, the respective next adjacent one of the joint locationsclosest to each of the real-time positions of the stitching head.

Clause 16: a manufacturing system of any one of clauses 1 to 15, whereinthe movable end effector includes a support frame attached to a robotarm.

Clause 17: a manufacturing system of any one of clauses 1 to 15, whereinthe movable end effector includes a support carriage attached to a slidetrack frame.

Clause 18: An article of footwear for a foot of a user, the article offootwear comprising: a sole structure configured to support thereon thefoot of the user; and an upper attached to the sole structure andconfigured to attach to the foot of the user, the upper including anupper segment fabricated from an engineered textile, the engineeredtextile including: a first set of mutually parallel wire windingselongated in a first direction; a second set of mutually parallel wirewindings elongated in a second direction distinct from the firstdirection, the second set of wire windings abutting the first set ofwire windings in an unwoven, intercrossed pattern, wherein the abuttingfirst and second sets of wire windings are joined at a plurality ofpredefined joint locations.

Clause 19: an article of footwear of clause 18: wherein the unwoven,intercrossed pattern defines a plurality of quadrangles with centralgaps, and wherein the article of footwear further comprises first andsecond threads elongated in a third direction parallel with respect tothe first direction, wherein the first and second threads arelockstitched together in the central gaps between the intercrossedwires.

Clause 20: a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storinginstructions for execution by one or more processors of a systemcontroller of an automated manufacturing system, the instructionscausing the automated manufacturing system to perform operationscomprising: receiving, from an image capture device mounted to a movableend effector, data indicative of a captured image of a workpiece, theworkpiece being composed of multiple unwoven, superposed wires, themovable end effector having mounted thereto a stitching head with athread feeder and a sewing needle cooperatively configured to generatestitches; locating, from the captured image of the workpiece, multiplegaps each defined between a quadrangle of the superposed wires; commandthe movable end effector to sequentially move the stitching head andthereby align the sewing needle with each of the gaps; and command thestitching head to insert a succession of stitches within the gapsbetween the superposed wires.

Clause 21: a method of operating an automated manufacturing system, themethod comprising: receiving a workpiece composed of superposed wires;determining, via a system controller, a plurality of predefined jointlocations for the superposed wires; commanding, via the systemcontroller, a movable end effector to sequentially move a processinghead to thereby align the processing head with each of the predefinedjoint locations; and commanding, via the system controller, theprocessing head to join the superposed wires at the predefined jointlocations to form an engineered textile.

Clause 22: a method of clause 21, further comprising receiving, via thesystem controller from an image capture device, data indicative of acaptured image of the workpiece.

Clause 23: a method of clause 21 or clause 22, wherein the processinghead includes a stitching head with a thread feeder and a sewing needlecooperatively configured to generate stitches.

Clause 24: a method of clause 23, wherein the stitching head furtherincludes a needle receiver operable to reciprocally translate the sewingneedle, a bobbin case operable to feed bobbin thread, and a shuttle hookoperable to create a lockstitch between the bobbin thread and a topthread fed from the thread feeder.

Clause 25: a method of any one of clauses 22 to 24, wherein determiningthe predefined joint locations for the superposed wires includeslocating, via the system controller from the captured image of theworkpiece, multiple gaps each defined between a quadrangle of thesuperposed wires, and wherein commanding the processing head to join thesuperposed wires at the predefined joint locations includes commanding,via the system controller, the stitching head to insert a succession ofstitches within the gaps between the superposed wires.

Clause 26: a method of clause 24, further comprising: identifying,within the captured image of the workpiece, respective sets ofintersecting points of the superposed wires defining the quadrangles;and determining, within each of the respective sets, a center of arespective diagonal line segment connecting an opposing pair of theintersecting points, wherein locating the gaps includes designating thecenter of the diagonal line segment of each of the sets of intersectingpoints as one of the gaps.

Clause 27: a method of clause 24, further comprising: identifying,within the captured image of the workpiece, an estimated centerline foreach of the superposed wires; and constructing the quadrangles of thesuperposed wires from the estimated centerlines, wherein locating thegaps includes designating a central region within each of thequadrangles between the estimated centerlines as one of the gaps.

Clause 28: a method of clause 24, further comprising: identifying,within the captured image of the workpiece, two intersecting points ofthe superposed wires defining two respective corners for each of thequadrangles; and determining, for each of the quadrangles, a centralregion at a calibrated angle from a line segment connecting the tworespective corners and a calibrated distance from one of the respectivecorners, wherein locating the gaps includes designating the centralregion of each of the quadrangles as one of the gaps.

Clause 29: a method of any one of clauses 21 to 29, further comprisingdetermining path plan data for moving the processing head to join thesuperposed wires at the predefined joint locations, the path plan dataincluding an origin, a destination, and a route for traversing theprocessing head from the origin to the destination.

Clause 30: a method of clause 29, further comprising: generating a traceof the route; determining a start position and an end position withinthe captured image of the workpiece; and superimposing the trace of theroute onto the captured image of the workpiece with the originoverlapping the start position and the destination overlapping the endposition.

Clause 31: a method of clause 30, further comprising: identifying aplurality of calibrated alignment points on the route; determining arespective displacement, if any, between each of the calibratedalignment points and a respective alignment location in the image of theworkpiece; and determining a respective trace correction to offset eachof the respective displacements.

Clause 32: a method of any one of clauses 21 to 31, wherein theautomated manufacturing system further includes a workpiece frame, themethod further comprising locating the superposed wires in a tensioned,crisscrossed pattern in the workpiece frame.

Clause 33: a method of clause 32, wherein the workpiece frame includes aplurality of adjoining casing walls defining an inner frame space, and aseries of posts projecting from the casing walls and spaced from oneanother along the perimeter of the inner frame space, and whereinlocating the superposed wires includes winding the wires around theposts such that the workpiece is stretched across the inner frame space.

Clause 34: a method of clause any one of clauses 21 to 33, wherein theautomated manufacturing system further includes a position sensor, themethod further comprising receiving, via the system controller from theposition sensor, sensor signals indicative of real-time positions of theprocessing head relative to a calibrated origin position.

Clause 35: a method of clause 34, further comprising determining, fromthe received sensor signals and the captured image of the workpiece, anestimated distance between each of the real-time positions of theprocessing head and a next adjacent one of the joint locations, whereincommanding the movable end effector to move the processing head includesestimating a plurality of desired trajectories each based on theestimated distance between the real-time position of the processing headand the respective next adjacent one of the joint locations.

Clause 36: a method of clause 35, further comprising determining,one-at-a-time in real-time from the received sensor signals and thecaptured image of the workpiece, the respective next adjacent one of thejoint locations closest to each of the real-time positions of theprocessing head.

Clause 37: a method of clause 21, wherein the movable end effectorincludes a support frame attached to a robot arm or a support carriageattached to a slide track frame.

What is claimed:
 1. An automated manufacturing system for constructingan engineered textile from a workpiece composed of superposed wires, themanufacturing system comprising: a movable end effector; an imagecapture device configured to capture an image of the workpiece andoutput data indicative thereof; a processing head mounted to the movableend effector, the processing head including a stitching head with athread feeder and a sewing needle cooperatively configured to generatestitches; and a system controller operatively connected to the movableend effector, the image capture device, and the processing head, thesystem controller being programmed to: receive, from the image capturedevice, the data indicative of the captured image of the workpiece;determine a plurality of predefined joint locations for the superposedwires, including locating, from the captured image of the workpiece,multiple gaps each defined between a quadrangle of the superposed wires;command the movable end effector to sequentially move the processinghead to align the processing head with each of the predefined jointlocations; and command the processing head to join the superposed wiresat the predefined joint locations to form the engineered textile,including commanding the stitching head to insert a succession ofstitches within the gaps between the superposed wires.
 2. Themanufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the stitching head furtherincludes a needle receiver operable to reciprocally translate the sewingneedle, a bobbin case operable to feed bobbin thread, and a shuttle hookoperable to create a lockstitch between the bobbin thread and a topthread fed from the thread feeder.
 3. The manufacturing system of claim1, wherein the system controller is further programmed to: identify,within the captured image of the workpiece, respective sets ofintersecting points of the superposed wires defining the quadrangles;and determine, within each of the respective sets, a center of arespective diagonal line segment connecting an opposing pair of theintersecting points, wherein locating the gaps includes designating thecenter of the diagonal line segment of each of the sets of intersectingpoints as one of the gaps.
 4. The manufacturing system of claim 1,wherein the system controller is further programmed to: identify, withinthe captured image of the workpiece, an estimated centerline for each ofthe superposed wires; and construct the quadrangles of the superposedwires from the estimated centerlines, wherein locating the gaps includesdesignating a central region within each of the quadrangles between theestimated centerlines as one of the gaps.
 5. The manufacturing system ofclaim 1, wherein the system controller is further programmed to:identify, within the captured image of the workpiece, two intersectingpoints of the superposed wires defining two respective corners for eachof the quadrangles; and determine, for each of the quadrangles, acentral region at a calibrated angle from a line segment connecting thetwo respective corners and at a calibrated distance from one of therespective corners, wherein locating the gaps includes designating thecentral region of each of the quadrangles as one of the gaps.
 6. Themanufacturing system of claim 1, wherein the system controller isfurther programmed to determine path plan data for moving the processinghead to join the superposed wires at the predefined joint locations, thepath plan data including an origin, a destination, and a joint route fortraversing the processing head from the origin to the destination. 7.The manufacturing system of claim 6, wherein the system controller isfurther programmed to: generate a trace of the joint route; determine astart position and an end position within the captured image of theworkpiece; and superimpose the trace of the joint route onto thecaptured image of the workpiece with the origin overlapping the startposition and the destination overlapping the end position.
 8. Themanufacturing system of claim 7, wherein the system controller isfurther programmed to: determine a plurality of calibrated alignmentpoints on the stitch route; determine a respective displacement, if any,between each of the calibrated alignment points and a respectivealignment location in the image of the workpiece; and determine arespective trace correction to offset each of the respectivedisplacements.
 9. The manufacturing system of claim 1, furthercomprising a workpiece frame configured to retain the superposed wiresin a tensioned, crisscrossed pattern.
 10. The manufacturing system ofclaim 9, wherein the workpiece frame includes a plurality of adjoiningcasing walls defining an inner frame space across which the workpiece isstretched, and a series of posts projecting from the casing walls andspaced from one another along the perimeter of the inner frame space,the wires being wound around the posts.
 11. The manufacturing system ofclaim 1, further comprising a position sensor configured to determinereal-time positions of the processing head relative to a calibratedorigin position and output sensor signals indicative thereof.
 12. Themanufacturing system of claim 11, wherein the system controller isfurther programmed to: receive, from the position sensor, the sensorsignals indicative of the real-time positions of the processing head;determine, from the received sensor signals and a captured image of theworkpiece, an estimated distance between each of the real-time positionsof the processing head and a next adjacent one of the joint locations;and estimate a plurality of desired trajectories each based on theestimated distance between the real-time position of the processing headand the respective next adjacent one of the joint locations.
 13. Themanufacturing system of claim 12, wherein the system controller isfurther programmed to determine, one-at-a-time in real-time from thereceived sensor signals and the captured image of the workpiece, therespective next adjacent one of the joint locations closest to each ofthe real-time positions of the stitching head.
 14. The manufacturingsystem of claim 1, wherein the movable end effector includes a supportframe attached to a robot arm.
 15. An automated manufacturing system forconstructing an engineered textile from a workpiece composed ofsuperposed wires, the manufacturing system comprising: a movable endeffector; a processing head mounted to the movable end effector; and asystem controller operatively connected to the movable end effector andthe processing head, the system controller being programmed to:determine a plurality of predefined joint locations for the superposedwires; determine path plan data for moving the processing head to jointhe superposed wires at the predefined joint locations, the path plandata including an origin, a destination, and a joint route fortraversing the processing head from the origin to the destination;generate a trace of the joint route; determine a start position and anend position within a captured image of the workpiece; superimpose thetrace of the joint route onto the captured image of the workpiece withthe origin overlapping the start position and the destinationoverlapping the end position; command the movable end effector tosequentially move the processing head to align the processing head witheach of the predefined joint locations; and command the processing headto join the superposed wires at the predefined joint locations to formthe engineered textile.
 16. The manufacturing system of claim 15,wherein the processing head includes a stitching head with a threadfeeder and a sewing needle cooperatively configured to generatestitches.
 17. The manufacturing system of claim 16, further comprisingan image capture device mounted to the movable end effector andconfigured to capture an image of the workpiece and output dataindicative thereof.
 18. The manufacturing system of claim 17, whereinthe system controller is further programmed to: receive, from the imagecapture device, the data indicative of the captured image of theworkpiece, wherein determining the plurality of predefined jointlocations includes locating, from the captured image of the workpiece,multiple gaps each defined between a quadrangle of the superposed wires,and wherein commanding the processing head to join the superposed wiresincludes commanding the stitching head to insert a succession ofstitches within the gaps between the superposed wires.
 19. Themanufacturing system of claim 15, wherein the movable end effectorincludes a support frame attached to a robot arm.
 20. An automatedmanufacturing system for constructing an engineered textile from aworkpiece composed of superposed wires, the manufacturing systemcomprising: a movable end effector; a processing head mounted to themovable end effector; a position sensor configured to determinereal-time positions of the processing head relative to a calibratedorigin position and output sensor signals indicative thereof; and asystem controller operatively connected to the movable end effector,position sensor, and the processing head, the system controller beingprogrammed to: determine a plurality of predefined joint locations forthe superposed wires; command the movable end effector to sequentiallymove the processing head to align the processing head with each of thepredefined joint locations; receive, from the position sensor, thesensor signals indicative of the real-time positions of the processinghead; determine, from the received sensor signals and a captured imageof the workpiece, an estimated distance between each of the real-timepositions of the processing head and a next adjacent one of the jointlocations; estimate a plurality of desired trajectories each based onthe estimated distance between the real-time position of the processinghead and the respective next adjacent one of the joint locations; andcommand the processing head to join the superposed wires at thepredefined joint locations to form the engineered textile.